In 3 short days, 2014 will come to a close. In looking back at the past 12 months, I find myself struggling to come up with the right words to describe such a big year.

While there is always a lot to juggle in life, I made things a little more precarious by starting a new company. Being the overachiever that I am, I felt that I could sufficiently handle everything on my plate. I learned very quickly that this was not entirely efficient for my body and brain.

In light of this, I decided to take on extra help. In the past, I have always had an intern to help me. But, with the new pressures in life, I added two more people to my little team. Learning how to manage these new set of hands was a learning experience for all of us. However, I am so thankful to these wonderful friends for sticking by my side and working so hard at each wedding. They were real troopers considering there were weekends where they were up for +40 hours straight clipping blooms, ironing linens and having my perfectionistic presence hover over them.

This year the weddings were a lot different than in the past years. This year I was able to design a lot of the elements and was given more freedom in the overall aesthetics. It always means the world to me when a bride hands over the design aspect of her wedding to me and lets me have fun. I was able to have my hand in the designing of invitations, choosing specific blooms, and honing my calligraphy skills. To those that do calligraphy, you are amazing. Seriously.

In October I was invited to join the other West Michigan Event Planners for an evening at Boatwerks in Holland. Tom from Boatwerks generously hosted this get together and talked about the big plans they have for weddings. It was a lovely time and I am so glad that I was able to meet these great women who I am constantly inspired by. In an industry that is so often seen as competitive and full of comparisons, I felt that these women were more about being a community where we can look to each other for help.

Next year there are some pretty amazing weddings lined up and I am so excited for each and every one of them. They will expand my skills and push my creativity to new levels, and I’ll have to stretch my imagination more, but I look forward to the adventures.